The following illustration breaks down who is on the WWTA and RPA and what they do and their relationships based on press release, state records, tax records and more. There is additional information coming on properties in Ooltewah being held as “Option” with developers on the building of the Sewer Treatment Plant. More to come!

It’s time for the TBI & FBI to investigate these relationships with county oversight agencies. There should be clear rules in the bylaws for the organizations to allow this type of breach of public trust.

Citizens should demand these individuals be removed from the WWTA & RPA immediately with the Mayor Coppinger!

County Commission Denies Funding To WWTA For Sewage Treatment Plant Site

The County Commission, facing an overflow crowd in opposition, on Wednesday voted 6-0 to deny funds for a sewage treatment plant site.

Commissioners and residents hit the process the Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority (WWTA) went about pursuing the site at 7800 Mahan Gap Road.

Commissioners said they got little information about the project prior to being asked for a vote to spend $3 million to acquire a 178-acre site.

Residents also said they should have been allowed for full input and been given complete information.

WWTA officials said the commission action would have only been the first step in the process and there would have been full discussion and disclosure at meetings at the planning commission and at public hearings required by the EPA and TDEC.

Mark Harrison, WWTA director, said the site was an excellent location for the plant to cover a 20,000-acre section. He said the WWTA is already at capacity on sewage it can send to Moccasin Bend Sewage Treatment Plant.

He also said that this site could be served by gravity feed, which he said would help curb odors that are more prevalent with pump stations. He said the county landfill would not work for the plant because of its steep topography.

Mr. Harrison said the plant might also hold effluent from Meigs County and Bradley County. Mr. Harrison said the Moccasin Bend Plant has a capacity of treating 230 million gallons per day, and this plant would be 10 million gallons per day.

He said the effluent would not go into Savannah Bay, but would be released in the Tennessee River across from the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant.

The County Commission earlier approved $45 million for a new sewage treatment plant for the growing Ooltewah area.

Voting against the resolution were Chairman Sabrina Smedley, Vice Chairman Randy Fairbanks and Commissioners Katherlyn Geter, David Sharpe, Greg Martin and Chester Bankston. Absent were Chip Baker and Warren Mackey. Tim Boyd was present at the start of the meeting, but left by the time of the vote.

The original WWTA letter/FAQs is BELOW, under FOH responses.
The letter demonstrates WWTA has NO plans of MOVING to a different location.

REBUTTAL:

WWTA you ask why this location? Could it be the DEVELOPERS that RESIDE on the WWTA BOARD of DIRECTORS know this location is ideal to building out sewers for MASS DENSITY housing up Mahan Gap, Highway 58, Ooltewah Georgetown Road, etc.. Even Collegedale has deals to bring on more homes/apartments once WWTA builds this facility. This is all about DEVELOPERS and LAND development, population density and tax revenue, don’t be FOOLED!

WWTA states the site is smaller than Moccasin Bend, which initially may be true, however they are planning to purchase 157 acres?

Answer: Future SPRAWLING SEWER SITE for mass density housing and apartments. This is weasel wording.

WWTA states this is above the 100 year flood line, another falsehood, just a couple years ago we had a 500 year flood in the area. Property owners around can verify. The field associated with the proposed sewer location was underwater. Where does the sewage go? It floats or seeps into the main body of Wolftever Creek

WWTA doesn’t discuss the IMPACT to the WATER TABLE, Savannah Valley is a spring fed watershed. What items would leach into the water table?

WWTA claims they will pump the DISCHARGE 7 miles to the TN River. Building the plant next to the river is the “logical” move, and not in the heart of Ooltewah. Doesn’t this go against their argument that the topography of the Birchwood Dump site is not ideal, you are pumping one direction or another. The current WWTA pumping stations on Snow Hill, Collegedale, etc.. pumping the sludge all the way down town to Moccasin Bend, hmm no problems there.

WWTA mentions the GRAY water can be used for sprinklers, etc however GRAY water has been shown have high concentrations of nitrogen and will create algae blooms, driving fish kills and other environmental disasters.

WWTA red herring statement about septic tanks is baseless. TVA just stated publicly their 200+ office complex in Georgetown would be on a similar system, however everyone recognizes this is a stop gap measure until this facility comes online in 5 years, just not stated publicly.

Currently WWTA runs multiple pumping stations throughout the county and they FAIL consistently. They also leak RAW sewage into the waterways. The EPA needs to take a closer look at WWTA practices.

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Original Statement & FAQ

PROPOSED NORTH HAMILTON WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT PROPERTY PURCHASE TO BE VOTED ON BY HAMILTON COUNTY COMMISSION:

Once Operational, will Meet Community Needs for Approximately Four Decades

Chattanooga, Tennessee (October 1, 2018)- – – The Hamilton County Commission will consider a financing agreement with the Hamilton County Water & Wastewater Treatment Authority (WWTA) that will allow the agency to purchase a 157-acre parcel located at 7800 Mahan Gap Road to meet future needs. The cost of the property is $2.6 million. Closing costs are anticipated to be no more than $400,000 with a total cost of $3 million to conclude the sale.

The site was among ten considered by the WWTA. The first consideration was at the County’s landfill station; however, the property was dismissed from consideration due to the topography of the site and cost to construct at that location. The site selected by the WWTA has 77 contiguous acres above the 100-year floodplain in two distinct areas and is suitable as a treatment facility. In addition, the size allows for significant buffering to provide a more pleasing aesthetic to the community. The WWTA plans to use less than one-third of the site for the plant with three acres or less in exposed sewer.

This new facility will be much smaller than the City of Chattanooga’s wastewater treatment facility. By comparison, the WWTA treatment facility will be sized to treat less than ten percent of the city’s facility and occupy a much smaller footprint. In addition, there will be a significant investment in odor control and landscaping from the start of the project.

Like cities and counties across the state of Tennessee, Chattanooga and Hamilton County are facing state and federally mandated clean-ups of their sewer facilities to make the environment safer as communities grow. The cost to mitigate the local issue is over $500 million. In Memphis, the cost is $250 million; while in Knoxville the cost is $540 million. The cost jumps to over $1.3 billion in Nashville.

The WWTA plan calls for treated water to go into the Tennessee River near the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant. While they are not sure of the exact location, they know that the plant will not be discharging treated water through the tributaries along Savannah Bay and into Harrison Bay.

WWTA Executive Director Mark Harrison said, “Protecting the environment and planning for growth can go hand-in-hand and certainly will for this project. There’s no way we’d ever try to send treated water through areas that might have a negative impact on our valuable creeks and tributaries. We believe that the Tennessee Department of Environment of Conservation wouldn’t approve a plan that will take such a route.”

Harrison noted that citizens have been reaching out to the WWTA since the project came up during last week’s Hamilton County Commission agenda session. “We appreciate the thoughtful comments and concerns we’ve received. We will be posting frequently asked questions on our Facebook page and encourage people to look there for answers.”

In addition, he noted that a public meeting has been scheduled on Thursday, October 11 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the Fire Hall Training Center located at 9100 Snow Hill Road in Ooltewah.

Homes in the area that are on septic will not have to connect to the line; however, as septic tanks fail over time, having an option that will serve the most amount of customers for the least amount of money is one that makes sense in the fastest growing area of Hamilton County. Sewer systems are also far more environmentally friendly than septic systems for growing communities.

With approval of the financing plan by the County Commission, the project will then move into zoning for consideration before the plant can be finalized. WWTA Board Chair Mike Moon noted that throughout the process, the WWTA will hold public meetings to keep the public informed and involved. “It’s important for the community to know the challenges we’re facing to keep the environment safe both now and in the future. We appreciate the concerns we’ve heard and will continue to develop a plan that addresses environmental demands as we meet community need.”

About Hamilton County Water & Wastewater Treatment Authority

The Hamilton County Water Wastewater Treatment Authority (WWTA) is responsible for the public sewer system throughout the unincorporated areas of Hamilton County, Tennessee, and the surrounding municipalities of East Ridge, Lakesite, Lookout Mountain, Red Bank, Ridgeside, Signal Mountain, and Soddy Daisy. Our purpose is to protect the environment and public by regulating the quality of water discharged through the wastewater collection system and treatment works. The WWTA regulates the expansion of sewers and ensures compliancy with the provisions of the Clean Water act as well as other federal, state, and local laws.

Created in 1993 by the Hamilton County Commission, the WWTA is comprised of over 500 miles of collection lines, 60 pump stations, 900 grinder pumps, two wastewater treatment facilities, and services for more than 30,000 customers.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NORTH HAMILTON WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT

Where will the treated wastewater be discharged?

The treated wastewater will be pumped approximately 7 miles to a discharge point in the main channel of the Tennessee River near Sequoyah Nuclear Plant. There will be no discharge into the Savannah Creek Drainage Basin that flows into Harrison Bay.

What will the WWTA do to minimize any odor coming from the plant?

Our number one goal in construction and operation of the treatment plant is to minimize odor. The plant will be constructed and operated with the minimization of any emanating odor. Methods, equipment and operations will attempt to ensure that little, if any, smells will be perceptible. The amount of exposed solids would only be one to three acres compared to Moccasin Bend Treatment plant’s 15.5 acres.

Will homeowners on septic have to connect to sewer?

As long as the septic system is operating correctly the homeowner won’t have to connect to the line. At some point in the future if the septic tank fails, then the homeowner would be required to connect to the sewer line, but only if the line is available near the residence. Being on a sewer system is more environmentally friendly for future growth versus septic systems.

The Moccasin Bend plant is presently operating at maximum capacity and, the WWTA has already reached our current capacity that was recently negotiated with the City of Chattanooga. If a new agreement was in place with the City of Chattanooga, and they had available capacity, the WWTA would have to pump the wastewater approximately 40- miles due to terrain and availability of easements. Pumping such distances increases the risk of failures (spills) and is very costly.

How does this proposed facility compare in size to the one operated by the City on Moccasin bend?

The Moccasin Bend facility operates on roughly 80 acres out of a total 184 acres with no buffers, along some portions of its perimeter. The proposed plant would operate on less than 50 acres out of a total of 157 acres and will contain buffers to neighboring land and structures.

How will this proposed construction be funded?

The Hamilton County Commission will obtain bond funds that will be paid back, over time, with WWTA rate payer revenue.

How long before proposed treatment plant is operational?

Once the land is purchased, it will take five to seven years before the plant would become operational. There are several steps the WWTA must take before construction may begin.

How will this impact the public health?

The new sewer system will prevent overflows of non-treated water into waterways. Septic systems fail; however, with a sewer system that has adequate capacity both now and in the future, the WWTA is positioning the community for a safer environment as well as effective and efficient service. From flush to finish, this plan positions Hamilton County for growth for the next four decades.